Digital menstrual wristwatch

ABSTRACT

The present invention is an electronic device or chronometer for use by women of various ages to monitor their menstrual, ovulation and menopausal cycles. The chronometer displays information relating to a woman&#39;s menstrual cycle readily useful to the woman, including the dates of her last and next menstrual cycles, the number of days that have elapsed since the last menstrual cycle, and the next ovulation day. If desired, the day(s) a woman expects PMS can also be displayed, such as for those who severely experience the associated symptoms.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to menstrual cycle indicators,and more particularly, to digital wristwatches for monitoring women'smenstrual, ovulation, and menopausal cycles.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It is well known in the art that a woman's menstrual cycle occursapproximately once a month. For obvious reasons, women monitor thenumber of days that have passed since their last menstrual cycle orso-called "menses." Indeed, most women, if not all, mark off a fixednumber of days from their last menstrual cycle on a calendar todetermine when their next period is due. While this method is simple andinexpensive, it also has a number of drawbacks. First, a woman mustremember the date of her last menstrual cycle. Second, if a womanincorrectly counts the number of days from her last cycle, she will alsomake a mistake when her next menstrual cycle or period is due. Third,women who monitor their ovulation, such as for birth control orfertility, can likewise incorrectly count the number of days, andthereby erroneously time the period during which to abstain from orengage in sexual intercourse. Similarly, using this latter method, womencan also make a mistake about when to expect pre-menstrual syndrome(PMS), which occurs several days before and after a woman's period.

In the prior art, various attempts have been made for monitoring awoman's menstrual cycle. Most notably, U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,906 toJezbera discloses a digital watch module that displays the number ofdays that have passed since the start of a woman's last menstrual cycle.One primary drawback of the foregoing prior art, however, is itsinability, among other things, to display information relating to awoman's menstrual cycle in a manner that is readily useful to a woman.For example, from the displayed information of Jezbera, a woman muststill use, for example, a calendar to determine the dates of her lastand next menstrual cycles, as well as the dates of her ovulation andpre-menstrual syndrome.

Another drawback in the prior art is its inability to automaticallymonitor for variations in a woman's cycle. This is especially importantinasmuch as women's cycles vary by an average of about seven to thirteendays for peak reproductive years and by even a greater amount for girlsin their teens and women approaching menopause.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide anelectronic device or chronometer for use by women of various ages tomonitor their menstrual, ovulation and menopausal cycles. Morespecifically, an object of the present invention is to displayinformation relating to a woman's menstrual cycle that is readily usefulto the woman, including the dates of the last and next menstrual cycles,the number of days that have elapsed since the last menstrual cycle, anddate of the next ovulation. If desired, the day(s) a woman expects PMScan also be displayed, such as for those who severely experience theassociated symptoms.

A further object of the invention is to automatically monitor forvariations in the woman's menstrual cycle, compared to, for example, theactual number of days in her menstrual cycles from previous months.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such a displayin conjunction with the current time, day, month and year as well as inconjunction with the display of a standard calendar.

A further object of the present invention is to provide alarms to thewoman, programmable one to several days before the start of themenstrual cycle, so as to alert the woman that she is within a targetrange, either relating to ovulation or pre-menstrual syndrome.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved byarranging display windows on the face of a digital wristwatch whichwindows are programmable to display the date of the last menstrualcycle, the date of the next menstrual cycle, the number of days sincethe last menstrual cycle and the date of ovulation.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is amicroprocessor-based watch responsive to inputs from a user, includingthe date of her last menstrual cycle and the number of days in thewoman's menstrual cycle. In response to such inputs, the microprocessorautomatically calculates or estimates the woman's ovulation day and thedate of her next menstrual cycle for the purpose of displaying suchinformation to the woman.

Also, the preferred embodiment of the invention includes a look-up tableor memory which stores information about a woman's previous menstrualcycles which may be used in determining the date of the woman's nextmenstrual cycle or ovulation day. Also, such prior menstrual history maybe used to account or monitor for variations in a woman's menstrualcycle. Furthermore, such information may be retrieved and used formedical diagnostics, if the woman later becomes ill.

In the preferred embodiment, an annular portion of the display may besegmented into equally spaced divisions and used to visually indicatethe number of days that have passed since the last menstrual cyclebegan.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following description, together with the accompanyingdrawings in which like elements are labeled similarly and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a digital menstrual wristwatch in accordancewith the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view of the display of FIG. 1 as it wouldappear on May 1, 1995;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view of the display of FIG. 1 as it wouldappear on Jun. 28, 1995;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another alternative embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating the operation of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an illustrative program for the microprocessorof FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Without any loss of generality or applicability for the principles ofthe present invention, the embodiments below herein are directed to adigital wristwatch. It should be understood, however, that the presentinvention is equally applicable to other types of chronometers, such asclocks or personal computers that function as chronometers.

The overall operation of the digital menstrual watch of the presentinvention may be most easily understood by first referring to FIGS. 1-4.Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a digital menstrual wristwatch 100having a LCD face 105, pushbuttons 110, 115, 120, and display windows125, 130, 135, 140 and 145. Display windows 125, 130, 135, 140 and 145display the date of a woman's last menstrual period ("LMP"), the date ofa woman's next menstrual period ("NMP"), the expected ovulation day("ovoday") and the number of days that have elapsed since the beginningof the last menstrual period ("EMD"), and the current time and day,respectively. The display windows may be reset to display correspondinginformation about last month's menstrual cycle when pushbutton 110 isdepressed once, and about the month prior to that when depressed twice,and so on.

If desired, the day(s) a woman expects to experience PMS can also bedisplayed. Referring to FIG. 2, shown there is a display window 150which indicates the day a woman expects to experience PMS. This day maybe programmable from one to several days before the woman's nextmenstrual cycle. This feature is particularly important for those womenwho severely experience the associated symptoms of PMS.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show how the display windows would appear on May 15, 1995and Jun. 18, 1995, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, if a woman's lastmenstrual cycle was on May 1, 1995 display window 130 labeled "NMP"would display May 29, which is 28 days after the last menstrual cycle orperiod. It should be understood that on initial use, a woman must firstenter the day of her menstrual cycle. In this case, the woman hasentered "May 1".

Display window 140 labeled "EMD" would display "14 days" inasmuch asthat many days have elapsed since the last menstrual cycle or period. Inaddition, the current day (May 15, 1995) and time (9:05 a.m.) would bedisplayed in time/day display window 145. Also, display window 135 woulddisplay the ovulation day, in this case "May 15" which is 14 days priorto the next menstrual period.

Alternatively, the current day may be displayed in a standard calendarformat with the days corresponding to "LMP," "NMP," and "ovoday" eitherboxed or highlighted.

The display windows are updated once a day at the end of each day. Forexample, on Jun. 18, 1995, several days after the next menstrual cyclehad ended, the display windows would appear as shown in FIG. 4. The"LMP" display window 125 would now display "May 29" rather than "May 1".Likewise, the other display windows would have been updated, with "NMP"display window 130 now displaying "June 26" and "ovoday" display window135 displaying "June 12". Since today would be Jun. 18, 1995, "EMD"display window 140 would display "20 days." This updating would be doneautomatically without the intervention of the user.

Inasmuch as menstrual wristwatch 100 cannot determine whether thewoman's menstrual cycle occurred on time or on the "NMP" day, suchinformation must be entered by the woman herself. Preferably, this canbe done so by the woman simultaneously depressing pushbuttons 110 and115 on the day menstruation starts. An audible tone may be used as aconfirmatory signal that the date has been entered. In this manner,"LMP" display window 125 will subsequently display the actual day thewoman had her last menstrual cycle. Likewise, simultaneously depressingpushbuttons 115 and 120 may be used to indicate the occurrence ofovulation.

In above instance, digital menstrual wristwatch 100 initially defaultsto a 28-day menstrual cycle and an ovulation day occurring 14 days priorto the next menstrual period. Most women's menstrual cycles, however,deviate from those norms. Under such circumstances, when the digitalwristwatch is first used, a woman will wish to directly adjust thesedefault values to reflect her particular menstrual cycle. In that case,a woman will depress pushbutton 115 to place menstrual wristwatch 100 ina "setting" mode wherein the default value of the menstrual cycle (28days) is displayed. By pressing either pushbutton 110 or pushbutton 120a desired number of times, that default value can be either incrementedor decremented, respectively. Once set, pushbutton 115 is depressedagain and the default value for the ovulation day (14 days) is thendisplayed. Similarly, depressing pushbutton 110 or pushbutton 120increments or decrements, respectively, the default value to suit theparticular user. In this manner, the default values within the menstrualwristwatch can be set whenever a woman desires to do so. In a similarmanner, a woman may press pushbutton 115 a third time to set the currentday of the week, a fourth time to set the month, a fifth time to set theyear and a sixth time to set the time (hour, minute, second).

As discussed above herein, a woman on the actual days of ovulation andmenstruation confirms their occurrences by simultaneously depressing twopushbuttons. In response to the depression of the pushbuttons, theactual dates corresponding to the onset of menstruation or ovulation arestored in memory, such as in the form of a look-up table. In thismanner, the digital menstrual wristwatch of the present inventionaccumulates the actual dates of menstruation and ovulation on amonth-to-month basis. Importantly, the stored menstrual and ovulationdates provide a baseline from which to later change the menstrual dataused to estimate the woman's next menstrual cycle or ovulation day. Thislatter menstrual data includes the number of days in the woman'smenstrual cycle and the number of days prior to the next menstrual cycleduring which ovulation occurs. That is, the woman's prior menstrualhistory may be used to account or monitor for variations in hermenstrual cycle.

For example, at the end of the woman's next menstrual cycle, the devicecalculates for a predetermined number of previous months, the averagenumber of days in the woman's previous menstrual cycles. This average isthen may be used to estimate or calculate the date of the woman's nextmenstrual cycle.

Referring to the table below, if a woman's last menstrual cycle was onMay 1, 1995 (Month No. 0), the "NMP" display window would initiallydisplay May 29. This is so because the wristwatch uses by default a28-day cycle, unless changed by the woman. In the first month, however,the woman did not get her period until May 27, two days early of thecalculated "NMP" day. At the end of the day on May 27, the displaywindows are updated. The "LMP" display window now indicates the actualday of the woman's last menstrual cycle, that is May 27. Inasmuch as theaverage number of days in the woman's menstrual cycle for the previousmonths is 27 days [(26 days+28 days)/2], the "NMP" window displays "June27" which is 27 days after the last actual menstrual cycle.

In the following month, the woman's menstrual cycle likewise was not ontime, beginning on June 25. That is, 29 rather than 27 days after thelast actual menstrual cycle. For the then previous months, the averagenumber of days in the menstrual cycles is now 27.6 days [(28 days+29days+27 days)/3]. For the remaining four months, with the woman'smenstrual beginning on July 23, August 17, September 7 and November 4,the corresponding number of days in the menstrual cycles are 29, 26, 24,27 and 28 days, respectively. Accordingly, the average number of days inthe woman's menstrual cycle for the then previous months are "27.25,""26.6," "26.6" and "26.8" days.

To estimate or calculate the day of the next menstrual cycle, thecorresponding average number of days is added to the day of the woman'slast menstrual cycle. In this case, those averages yield the followingdates for the woman's next menstrual cycles: "August 17" (27.25 daycycle); "September 9" (26.6 day cycle); "October 6" (26.6 day cycle);and "November 4" (26.8 day cycle).

    ______________________________________                                                         Average Days                                                                  in Menstrual                                                        Days in   Cycle For   Next    Last                                     Month  Menstrual Previous    Menstrual                                                                             Menstrual                                No     cycle     Months      Cycle   Cycle                                    ______________________________________                                        0      28        28          May 29  May 1                                           (Default) (Default)                                                    1      26        27          June 23 May 27                                   2      29        27.6        July 23 June 25                                  3      26        27.25       Aug. 17 July 21                                  4      24        26.6        Sept. 9 Aug. 14                                  5      27        26.6        Oct. 6  Sept. 10                                 6      28        26.8        Nov. 4  Oct. 8                                   ______________________________________                                    

Over time, irregularities in the woman's menstrual cycle will notabruptly, but gradually offset the number of days between the "LMP" and"NMP" so as more properly estimate when the woman can expect to get herperiod. Advantageously, a woman need not monitor how many days her cycleis off inasmuch as it is now performed automatically so long as shesimply depresses the pushbuttons on the wristwatch to indicate the startof her menstrual cycle.

Alternatively, the device may calculate or estimate the woman's nextmenstrual cycle by always using a fixed number of days from the lastmenstrual cycle. This latter fixed number of days may be set by thewoman. Or, the device may use simply the number of days in the woman'slast menstrual cycle so as to more properly estimate the day of thewoman's next menstrual period. Regardless of the method, it should beunderstood that each method only provides an estimate as to when a womanmay expect to have her next menstrual cycle. None of the methods canactually predict when a woman will have her period inasmuch as there aretoo many unknown variables.

Similarly, the above methodologies may be used to estimate the woman'snext ovulation day, which normally occurs 14 days before her nextmenstrual cycle. The ovulation day is displayed in display window 135.It should be understood that the onset of pre-menstrual syndrome mayalso be determined and displayed in a similar manner in display window150.

Accordingly, the wristwatch of the present invention can be programmedto account or monitor for variations in a woman's menstrual cycle basedon her past menstrual history. Various other programming techniques foreffecting this latter methodology are well known in the art and mayinclude the use of other statistical techniques, such as weightaveraging, standard deviation and the like. It is also contemplated thatartificial intelligence or logic called "fuzzy-logic" may also be used.

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is illustrated an alternative preferredembodiment of the present invention which is similar to the embodimentof FIG. 1, but differs from that embodiment in that an annular displayportion 160 on the face of the watch is segmented into equally spacednumbered divisions. These divisions are used to visually indicate thenumber of days that have passed since the last menstrual cycle began,each division corresponding to an elapsed day. A display pointer 165 ispositioned adjacent to the number of days since the woman's lastmenstrual cycle. It should be understood that other pointer or indicatormeans may be used. For example, the numbered divisions may behighlighted or blacken in the appropriate manner.

Although annular display 160 has only 28 days displayed, should thewoman change the default setting, a corresponding number of divisionswill then also be displayed. That is, if her menstrual cycle has 30days, then 30 divisions would be displayed. Should the woman's menstrualcycle occur more than 28 days after her last cycle, the pointer simplywraps around, restarting on day number one. In this manner, a woman canreadily observe how many days she is late.

An additional feature of the present invention is its programmable alarmcapability. A woman may, if she desires, program the wristwatch of thepresent invention to alert her that she is within a given number of days("target range") prior to menstruation. Similarly, other alarms may beprogrammed with respect to ovulation or pre-menstrual syndrome.Preferably, the alarm(s) are audible to the user, such as a sound, voiceor word, either alarming on a single day or on a number of days prior tomenstruation, ovulation and/or pre-menstrual syndrome. Of course, toindicate which alarm it is, a different sound or word may be used foreach.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative functional block diagram of a controlcircuitry 600 of the invention. In this embodiment, control circuitry600 includes eight distinct elements; LCD display face 610, displaydrive circuit 620, microprocessor 630, memory 640, alarm drive circuit650, speaker 660, input circuit 670 and timing circuit 680. It should beunderstood, however, that the electrical circuits performing thefunctions of these elements need not be discrete and may be integratedin any manner, provided that the eight basic functions of these elementsare performed.

The display function is performed by LCD display face 610 which operatesin response to signals from drive circuit 620. LCD display face 610comprises, for example, a dot matrix panel for at least displaying inpredefined portions or windows thereof the date of the woman's lastmenstrual cycle, the date of the woman's next menstrual cycle, thenumber of days since the woman's last menstrual cycle and the currentday and time. LCD display 610 may be in the shape of a circle,rectangle, or square.

More specifically, control circuitry 600 uses a microprocessor 630having random access memory (RAM) 640 and internal hardware logic. Underprogram control, microprocessor 630 provides signals to drive circuit620 so as to have displayed the menstrual data as discussed above inrelation to FIGS. 3 through 4. That is, specific dots of the LCD displayface are selectively activated by drive circuit 620 so as to display theappropriate data in display windows 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 150 and160. The display windows may be generated likewise in the shape of acircle, rectangle or square. Those skilled in the art will readily notethat such menstrual data may alternatively be displayed, for example,using 7-segment LED displays.

It should be understood that microprocessor 630 includes such hardwareas a central processing unit, program and random access memories, timingand control circuitry, input/output (I/O) interface devices and otherdigital subsystems necessary to the operation of the central processingunit. Also, those skilled in the art will readily note that themenstrual wristwatch of the present invention may be completelyimplemented using analog circuitry.

The digital wristwatch operates in accordance with a program whosemethodology of operation is set forth above herein for displaying theabove menstrual information or data. This program can be stored inconventional random-access-memory or in a preprogramed chip, such asEPROM or EEPROM. In particular, the program is made up of a number ofinstructions that are in coded binary format understood by themicroprocessor, so that the program can tell the microprocessor how tocalculate, for example, the date of the woman's next menstrual cycle,the number of days since the woman's last menstrual cycle, and theexpected date of ovulation.

Control circuitry 600 is provided with timing circuit 680, preferablyhaving a quartz crystal oscillator. Timing circuit 680 generates digitalsignals to drive circuit 620 corresponding to the current day, time,month and year. For example, timing circuit 680 may be a standard watchmodule. Timing circuit 680 updates the display, for example, once everyhundredth of a second, so as to perform the clock function needed tokeep track of time. These digital signals are also provided tomicroprocessor 630 so that it too knows the time and day. This time datais stored in RAM by the microprocessor and is updated on aneed-to-basis.

The inputs to the microprocessor are entered through input circuit 670and pushbutton 110, 115, 120. Input circuit 670 may use standard buffersand encoders, which are well known in the art. Preferably, whenever anyof the pushbuttons are depressed, an interrupt signal goes tomicroprocessor 630, causing it to execute the appropriate interruptroutine necessary to read the inputs from the pushbuttons.

The function of alarm drive circuit 650 is, in response to digitalsignals from microprocessor 630, to generate audible tones at differentfrequencies via a speaker 660. These tones indicate different timeswithin a woman's menstrual cycle in relationship to a woman'smenstruation, ovulation or PMS. The operations of such alarm drivecircuits are well known in the art and accordingly will not be discussedhere for the sake of clarity.

The operation of microprocessor 630 of FIG. 6 can be understood moreclearly from the flow chart of FIG. 7, together with the followingdiscussion. As shown in FIG. 7, the operation of the microprocessor 630is centered, in part, around the detection of an interrupt in decisionblock 715. It is necessary, however, that a portion of the controlprogram stored in memory provides a routine for initializingmicroprocessor 630 when power is first applied. Therefore block 705indicates a power on condition, and block 710 indicates that themicroprocessor is initialized. In block 710, a routine is executed whichinitializes a number of registers in memory. Some of these registerscorrespond, for example, to the default settings for the number of daysin a woman menstrual cycle, the number of days prior to the nextmenstrual that ovulation occurs and a default setting for the woman'slast menstrual cycle (day, time, month and year). Other registers willalso be initialized relating to alarm settings discussed above herein.Once the initializing has been completed, it need not be repeated untilthe microprocessor is turned off and then turned on again, such as whenthere is a loss of power due to battery failure. To alleviate thisproblem, however, it is contemplated that the menstrual wristwatch ofthe present invention includes a backup battery.

Decision block 715 tests the interrupt line setting to themicroprocessor to determine whether any of the pushbuttons have beendepressed and hence have send out an interrupt request. Should thepushbuttons be repeatably depressed, an appropriate interrupt may begenerated to indicate so. If so, the microprocessor reads the pushbuttonsettings, and accordingly changes the default settings, as discussedabove and shown in blocks 720 and 725. For example, the number of daysin the woman's menstrual cycle may have been changed or the date of thewoman's last menstrual cycle set for the first time. If the user,however, sets the current time, day, month and year, the microprocessorwill accordingly instruct the timing circuit to do likewise.

After testing for an interrupt signal, the microprocessor will check inblock 730 to see if it is the end of the day. If so, the microprocessorupdates in block 735 its internal registers that keep track of thecurrent day. When this has been completed, the microprocessor updatesthe woman's menstrual data, as shown in block 740. Unless the woman hasindicated that menstruation has started, the number of days displayedsince her last menstrual cycle is incremented by one. If the woman,however, has indicated so, the "LMP" display window is replaced with theactual date of her menstruation. Moreover, the microprocessor, using,for example, the average number of days in her menstrual cycles for theprior months, determines the date of her next menstrual cycle asdiscussed above herein. Similarly, information relating to the woman'sovulation and, if displayed, information relating to her PMS is updated.

At the end or the start of each day, the microprocessor checks in block750 for alarm settings. If the current day is equal to or within aprogrammable number of days to any of the alarm setting set by thewoman, the microprocessor causes an audible tone to be heard by thewoman at a predetermined time of day.

When these routines are completed, the microprocessor proceeds to updatethe information on the LCD display face. This step consists of sendingthe appropriate data to the drive circuit so as to permit the drivecircuit to display the correct menstrual data. Afterward themicroprocessor loops back to the beginning so as to start the entireprocess over again.

Over several months, the menstrual wristwatch accumulates menstrual datawhich is stored in memory. It is contemplated that the digital menstrualwristwatch of the present invention may be interfaced with an externalcomputer like the IBM PC or the Apple Macintosh thru a external port. Inthis manner, a woman's menstrual data may be downloaded for medicaldiagnostic purposes, among other things. The wristwatch can alsointerface with small hand-held pocket computers like those readilyavailable from Texas Instrument, Hewlett Packard, and Casio, amongothers.

It should be emphasized that the above described flow chart, shown inFIG. 7, is merely one example of how microprocessor 630 may beprogrammed in order to control LCD display face 610. Similarly, thecombination of components shown in FIG. 6 could be changed to meetspecific design requirements, such as requirements for additional inputsor different types of displays or timing circuits.

Thus, it is understood that the embodiment herein is merely illustrativeof the principles of the invention. Various modifications may be made bythose skilled in the art which will embody the principles of theinvention and fall within the spirit and the scope thereof.

I claim:
 1. A device for monitoring the menstrual cycle of a woman, saiddevice comprising:a watch housing; memory means for storing associateddates of the woman's menstrual cycle; a display disposed on saidhousing; display drive means responsive to said memory means forconcurrently displaying said associated dates of the woman's menstrualcycle on said display; means for automatically updating said associateddates of the woman's menstrual cycle on the basis of menstrual datastored in said memory means; and means for adjusting said menstrual dataso as to reflect the woman's particular menstrual cycle.
 2. The deviceof claim 1 wherein said means for adjusting includes pushbutton meansfor changing the associated dates of the woman's menstrual cycle storedin said memory means.
 3. The device of claim 1 wherein said means foradjusting includes means for entering into said memory means the datewhen the woman's menstrual cycle begins.
 4. The device of claim 1wherein said dates associated with a woman's menstrual cycle include thedate of the woman's last menstrual period, and the date of the woman'snext menstrual period, and said menstrual data includes the number ofdays in the woman's menstrual cycle.
 5. The device of claim 1 whereinsaid dates associated with a woman's menstrual cycle further includesthe date of a woman's ovulation, and the date a woman expects toexperience pre-menstrual syndrome.
 6. The device of claim 1 furthercomprisingtiming means for generating signals corresponding to thecurrent time and day, and said display drive means further fordisplaying said current time and day on said display.
 7. The device ofclaim 6 further comprising means for setting the timing means to thecurrent time and day.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein said means forupdating includes means for estimating the date of the woman's nextmenstrual cycle.
 9. The device of claim 8 wherein the date of thewoman's next menstrual cycle is a predetermined number of days from thedate of the woman's last menstrual cycle.
 10. The device of claim 9wherein said predetermined number is entered by the woman.
 11. Thedevice of claim 10 wherein said predetermined number is a statisticalnumber of days from the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle, saidstatistical number of days based on the woman's prior menstrual history.12. The device of claim 1 wherein said display includes a plurality ofpredefined display windows, said dates associated with a woman'smenstrual cycle being displayed within said display windows.
 13. Thedevice of claim 12 wherein each of said plurality of predefined displaywindows has an associated legend.
 14. The device of claim 1 wherein saiddisplay includes an annular display portion segmented into numbereddivisions, each corresponding to an elapsed day, said device furthercomprising pointer means for indicating on said annular display thenumber of days that have elapsed since the date of the woman's lastmenstrual cycle.
 15. The device of claim 1 further comprising means foralerting the woman at predetermined times within her menstrual cycle.16. The device of claim 15 wherein said predetermined times areprogrammable.
 17. The device of claim 15 wherein said display drivemeans further displays said dates associates with a woman's menstrualcycle in conjunction with a standard calendar display.
 18. The device ofclaim 1 wherein said display drive means further displays the number ofdays since the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle.
 19. A menstrualmonitor comprisinga housing; a display face on said housing having aplurality of predefined display windows; means for concurrentlydisplaying the dates of a woman's last and next menstrual cycles, eachof said dates being displayed in one of said plurality of predefineddisplay windows; means for storing menstrual data; means for calculatingthe date of the woman's next menstrual cycle on the basis of saidmenstrual data and the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle; andmeans for accessing said menstrual data.
 20. The menstrual monitor ofclaim 19 further comprising pushbutton means for changing the date ofthe woman's last menstrual cycle.
 21. The menstrual monitor of claim 19further comprising means for setting the date when the woman's menstrualcycle begins.
 22. The menstrual monitor of claim 19 wherein said meansfor displaying further displays the number of days since the date of thewoman's last menstrual cycle.
 23. The menstrual monitor of claim 19wherein said means for displaying further displays the date of thewoman's ovulation, and the date a woman expects to experiencepre-menstrual syndrome.
 24. The menstrual monitor of claim 19 furthercomprisingtiming means for generating signals corresponding to thecurrent time and day, and said means for displaying further displayingsaid current time and day on said display face.
 25. The menstrual deviceof claim 24 further comprising means for setting the timing means to thecurrent time and day.
 26. The menstrual monitor of claim 19 wherein saidmeans for calculating includes means for estimating the date of thewoman's next menstrual cycle.
 27. The menstrual monitor of claim 26wherein the date of the woman's next menstrual cycle is a predeterminednumber of days from the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle. 28.The menstrual monitor of claim 27 wherein said predetermined number ofdays is entered by the woman.
 29. The menstrual monitor of claim 27wherein said predetermined number of days is a statistical number ofdays from the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle, said statisticalnumber of day based on the woman's prior menstrual history.
 30. Themenstrual monitor of claim 19 wherein each of said plurality ofpredefined display windows has an associated legend.
 31. The menstrualmonitor of claim 19 wherein said display face includes an annulardisplay portion segmented into numbered divisions, each corresponding toan elapsed day, said monitor further comprising pointer means forindicating on said annular display the number of days that have elapsedsince the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle.
 32. The menstrualmonitor of claim 19 further comprising means for alerting the woman atpredetermined times within her menstrual cycle.
 33. The menstrualmonitor of claim 32 wherein said predetermined times are programmable.34. The menstrual monitor of claim 19 wherein said means for displayingfurther displays said date of the woman's last menstrual cycle and saiddate of the woman's next menstrual cycle on a standard calendar display.35. The menstrual monitor of claim 19 wherein said menstrual dataincludes the number of days in the woman's menstrual cycle.
 36. A devicefor displaying menstrual data, comprising:display means for concurrentlydisplaying the dates of a woman's last and next menstrual cycles, andthe number of days since the date of the woman's last menstrual cycle;timing means for generating signals corresponding to the current time,day, month and year; memory means for storing said dates of the woman'slast and next menstrual cycles, and the number of days since the date ofthe woman's last menstrual cycle; and microprocessor means under programcontrol responsive to said memory means for updating after the womanbegins her menstrual cycle the dates of the woman's last and nextmenstrual cycles and the number of days since the date of the woman'slast menstrual cycle, the date of the woman's next menstrual cycle madeon the basis of menstrual data stored in said memory means; and meansfor modifying said menstrual data.
 37. The device of claim 36 furthercomprising pushbutton means for setting the date of the woman's lastmenstrual cycle and the number of days since the date of the woman'slast menstrual cycle.
 38. The device of claim 36 further comprisingmeans for entering into said memory means the date when the woman'smenstrual cycle begins.
 39. The device of claim 36 wherein saidmicroprocessor means further displays on said display means the date ofthe woman's ovulation, and the date the woman expects to experiencepre-menstrual syndrome.
 40. The device of claim 36 furthercomprisingtiming means for generating signals corresponding to thecurrent time and day, and said display means further for displaying saidcurrent time and day.
 41. The device of claim 36 wherein the date of thewoman's next menstrual cycle is made by adding a fixed number of days tothe date of the woman's last menstrual cycle.
 42. The device of claim 36wherein the date of the woman's next menstrual cycle is made by adding astatistical number of days to the date of the woman's last menstrualcycle, said statistical number of days based on the woman's priormenstrual history.
 43. The device of claim 36 further comprising meansfor automatically updating the date of the woman's last menstrual cycleand the date of the woman's next menstrual cycle.
 44. The device ofclaim 36 wherein said display means includes an annular display portionsegmented into numbered divisions, each corresponding to an elapsed day,said device further comprising pointer means for indicating on saidannular display the number of days that have elapsed since the date ofthe woman's last menstrual cycle.
 45. The device of claim 36 furthercomprising means for alerting the woman at predetermined times withinher menstrual cycle.
 46. The device of claim 36 wherein said menstrualdata includes the number of days in the woman's menstrual cycle.